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The registrations to BL4S 2023 are closed. Stay tuned for next edition.

Guidelines to prepare your proposal

Students must work together to create an experimental proposal with the following structure:

  • Proposal
    • A written proposal of up to 1000 words
      that may be supported by diagrams or pictures
      (acknowledgements, references, formulas etc. and a
      reasonable amount of words in figures are
      not counted). It should contain:
      • Why you want to
        come to CERN
      • Your experiment idea and how you
        would like to use the particle
        beam for your experiment
      • What you hope to
        take away from
        the experience
    • Use 100-200 more words to propose
      a science education or outreach activity
      that the members of your team can organize in their community.
  • A one-minute video that summarizes
    your written proposal in a creative,
    entertaining way and that
    introduces the members of the team.

The one-minute video is not mandatory for taking part in the competition, but the best video will receive a special prize. The winners will be selected on the basis of the written proposal only.

The evaluation will take into account the following criteria:

  1. Feasibility of the experiment
  2. Ability to follow the scientific method
  3. Motivation of the experiment and to come to a particle accelerator
  4. Creativity of the experiment

Note that all of the above points are important for the judgment. We are not expecting a fully developed experimental proposal with a detailed setup and hypothesis. An idea of what you and your team want to find out, or how you want to use the beamline communicated in a creative way is enough to take part in the competition. Do not worry if the technical details of the beamline facilities look a little daunting at first. We have provided several example experiments and people to contact for help.

Coaches are encouraged to help students understand what the particle beam is capable of, but the students must create the proposal themselves. The winning teams will have the opportunity to work with scientists to refine their ideas before they come to the facility.

2023 special prizes

In 2023, the organizer of the “Stars Shine For Everyone” (SSVI) initiative has donated several optical telescopes to Beamline for Schools that will be awarded to a selection of teams. SSVI is, to quote the website, “An Astronomy Project for children with disabilities and underserved communities around the world”.

In order to win one of these telescopes we want the participants to propose a science education or outreach activity that the members of a team can organize in their community. Inclusiveness shall be a very important component of this activity, and the goal is to share the passion for physics with people that are less exposed to science. A team could, for example, think about a creative way to introduce physics to children coming from a disadvantaged area in its environment.

If you want to be considered for winning one of these telescopes, please add an additional  (not mandatory) section of 100-200 words (in addition to the 1000 words limit of your BL4S proposal) to your submission and let us know about your idea for promoting science in an inclusive way. We encourage the winners of these awards to realize their activities and we will share the outcome on the BL4S Website.

Please note that the CERN logo is legally protected and any use by third parties is forbidden. However, the BL4S logo can be used if desired.